CS-13-398 International Non-filers Survey

OMB #1545-1432

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Survey of Individuals Living Abroad

The IRS is committed to improving services to individuals living outside the United States. You can help in this important mission by providing your feedback below. This voluntary survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Our survey partner, ICF, will not provide your identity to the IRS and will keep your identity private to the extent permitted by law. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the ICF Survey Helpline at [EmailAccount]@icfi.com or 001-301-572-0381.

Filing Requirements

1

1A. Did you have a federal U.S. tax filing requirement in the most recent tax year?

 Yes

 No

 Not sure

1B. What resource(s) did you use to determine whether you had federal U.S. tax filing requirement? Please check all that apply.

 Personal accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparation company

 Consulted an IRS resource (IRS.gov, forms/publications, telephone line, etc.)

 Consulted a U.S. embassy or consulate

 Consulted my employer

 Consulted my friends or family

 Other (Please specify ______________________________________)

 None

Your Use of Resources to Prepare Your Most Recent Tax Return

2

For each resource listed below, please let us know if…

• You are aware of the resource

• [If you are aware] If you used the resource to prepare your most recent U.S. tax return

• [If you used the resource] How satisfied you were with the resource you used for your most recent tax return

Your Contact with the IRS

Are You Aware of This Resource?

Did You Use for Most Recent Return?

Very Dissatisfied

Very Satisfied

1

2

3

4

5

2A.

IRS telephone line (1-267-941-1000)

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2B.

IRS website (IRS.gov)

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2C.

International section of IRS.gov

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2D.

E-mail to the IRS through IRS.gov

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2E.

IRS Brochure Publication 4732: Federal Tax Information for U.S. Taxpayers Living Abroad

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2F.

Other IRS resource (Please specify___________________________________)















Your Contact with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate

2G.

Onsite IRS assistance at the U.S. embassy or consulate in Frankfurt, London, Paris, or Beijing

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2H.

Telephone assistance from IRS staff at the U.S. embassy or consulate

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2I.

U.S. embassy website for tax information

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2J.

E-mail to the IRS through the U.S. embassy or consulate

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











Overall Satisfaction

2K.

OVERALL, how satisfied were you with the U.S. federal resources available to you when you completed your most recent tax return?













Your Contact with Non-Government Sources

Are You Aware of This Resource?

Did You Use for Most Recent Return?

Very Dissatisfied

Very Satisfied

1

2

3

4

5

2L.

Tax preparation company

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2M.

Personal accountant/bookkeeper

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











2N.

Tax preparation software

 Yes   No

 Yes   No











Where You Have Received Information About Your Taxes

3

With regard to your U.S. federal tax returns while living outside of the United States, where have you received information on the following issues…?

• Tax treaties

• Resolving a notice or letter from the IRS

• Making a payment

• Obtaining an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)

Please check all the sources that apply in each column. If you did not receive information on an issue, check Not Applicable at the bottom of that column.

Sources for Receiving Information in the Past	3A. Tax Treaties	3B. Resolving Notice/Letter from the IRS	3C. Making a Payment	3D. Obtaining an ITIN
IRS.gov				
IRS telephone line (1-267-941-1000)				
IRS publications				
Personal accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparation company				
U.S. embassy or consulate				
Employer/Union/Trade organization				
Family/Friend				
American Citizens Abroad (ACA)				
Association of Americans Residing Overseas (AARO)				
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO)				
Other (Please specify_____________________________)				
NOT APPLICABLE/DID NOT RECEIVE INFORMATION ON THIS ISSUE				

Contact with the IRS by Telephone

4

Complete 4A to 4E only if you called the IRS telephone line (1-267-941-1000) about your most recent tax return.

If you did not call the IRS telephone line, skip to Question 4G.

4A. How did you first find the telephone number for the IRS?

 Notice/Letter from the IRS

 On the IRS website (IRS.gov)

 Personal accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparation company

 IRS publication

 U.S. embassy or consulate

 Other (Please specify _____________________________________)

 Don’t remember

4B. Before calling the IRS telephone line, did you visit IRS.gov to look for the information you needed?

 Yes, I found the information on IRS.gov, but I wanted to confirm or clarify the information with someone by phone

 Yes, I visited IRS.gov, but I could not find the information I needed

 No, I did not visit IRS.gov before calling the IRS telephone line

 Don’t remember

4C. During your most recent call to the IRS telephone line, did you speak to an IRS representative?

 Yes, I spoke to an IRS representative [skip to Question 4E]

 No, I did not speak to an IRS representative

Complete 4D only if you called the IRS telephone line but did not speak to a representative.

4D. If no, why did you not speak to an IRS representative?

 The automated information was sufficient

 The hold time was too long

 My call was disconnected

 I called outside of the stated business hours

 Other (Please specify _____________________________________)

4E. For your most recent tax return, did you personally pay for any of your calls to the IRS?

 Yes, I paid

 No, I used an internet-based phone service (e.g., Skype, Live Messenger) [skip to Question 5A]

 No, I used a landline or mobile phone but did not incur charges [skip to Question 5A]

 No, it was paid by my employer or another person [skip to Question 5A]

 Don’t remember [skip to Question 5A]

Complete 4F only if you personally paid for any of your call(s) to the IRS.

4F. Based on the usefulness of the information you received on the call to the IRS telephone line, do you feel that it was worth the monetary costs you incurred?

 Yes

 No

Complete 4G to 4L only if you DID NOT call the IRS telephone line about your most recent tax return.

How much did each of the following influence your decision not to contact the IRS via the telephone line?		Not a Factor at All				Major Factor
			1	2	3	4	5
4G.	I had no reason to call the IRS						
4H.	I felt it would take too long to reach someone who could help me						
4I.	I would incur the costs of the telephone call						
4J.	I was not sure that a call would yield the information I needed						
4K.	The hours were not convenient for me						
4L.	I was not aware that the IRS provided a telephone line for taxpayers living abroad						

Use of IRS.gov

5

Complete 5A to 5D only if you used IRS.gov regarding your most recent tax return. If you did not use IRS.gov, skip to Question 6A.

Please rate your agreement with the following statements:		Strongly Disagree						Strongly Agree			Not Applicable
			1	2		3	4		5
5A.	Going to IRS.gov was a more convenient option for me than calling the IRS								
5B.	It was easy to find the specific tax-related information I needed on IRS.gov (e.g., capital gains/losses, tax exemptions)								
5C.	It was easy to understand the information about international tax topics on IRS.gov									
5D.	The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in the International Taxpayers section of IRS.gov provided the information I needed									

Contact with the IRS by E-mail

6

Complete 6A to 6E only if you e-mailed the IRS (via IRS.gov or a U.S. embassy/consulate). If you did not contact the IRS by E-mail, skip to Question 7A.

Please rate your agreement with the following statements:		Strongly Disagree				Strongly Agree
			1	2	3	4	5
6A.	The e-mail address for contacting the IRS was easy to find online						
6B.	Corresponding through e-mail was a more convenient option for me than calling the IRS						
6C.	Corresponding through e-mail was a more convenient option for me than searching for information on IRS.gov						
6D.	I received a response to my e-mail in a timely manner						
6E.	I received the information I needed via e-mail						

Meeting Your Current and Future Needs

7

Please rate your agreement with the following statements:		Strongly Disagree						Strongly Agree
				1	2		3		4	5
7A.	I would be more confident with the information I receive from the IRS telephone line than information I view on the IRS.gov website									
7B.	If I had a tax question I would look for information on IRS.gov before calling the IRS									
7C.	I would prefer to get the information I need on IRS.gov rather than calling the IRS									
7D.	The IRS telephone line’s hours of operation (6:00 am to 11:00 pm (ET) M-F) are convenient for me									
7E.	I would use an IRS-provided (international) toll-free telephone line for tax-related inquires									
7F.	I would use an interactive tool on IRS.gov that asked me a series of tax-related questions and guided me to information based on my answers									

7G. The IRS would like to focus its resources on improving the support it provides to U.S. taxpayers living abroad. Based on your own experiences and preferences, where should the IRS devote more resources? Please put an X though one circle only.

									
IMPROVING THE TELEPHONE SERVICE Improve access by providing a toll-free line							IMPROVING THE ONLINE SERVICES Improve website interactivity

V

U.S. Citizenship

8

V

8A. Although Americans living abroad are commonly known as expatriates or expats, an “expatriate” is officially defined as “a U.S. citizen who relinquished citizenship or a long-term resident who ceased to be a lawful permanent resident.” Have you officially expatriated from the United States, meaning you have relinquished your U.S. citizenship or are a long-term resident who ceased to be a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.?

 Yes

 No [skip to Question 9A]

 Not sure [skip to Question 9A]

Complete 8B and 8C only if you have expatriated from the United States.

8B. Before you expatriated, were you aware that there may be U.S. federal tax consequences and filing requirements related to your expatriation?

 I was aware of all of the tax consequences and filing requirements that applied to me

 I was aware of some of the tax consequences and filing requirements that applied to me

 At the time, I was not aware of the tax consequences and filing requirements that applied to me

 Don’t remember [skip to Question 9-A]

8C. How easy or difficult was it to determine the U.S. federal tax consequences and filing requirements related to your expatriation?

 Very easy

 Somewhat easy

 Somewhat difficult

 Very difficult

Other Information About How You File

9

9A. Who prepared your most recent U.S. federal tax return? Please select only one.

 You or your spouse

 A friend or other family member (relative)

 The IRS

 Volunteer Income Tax Clinic (VITA) or Military Volunteer Income Tax Clinic

 A paid personal accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparation company in the United States

 A paid personal accountant/bookkeeper/tax preparation company outside the United States

 Employer

 Someone else (Please specify__________________________________________)

 NOT APPLICABLE [skip to Question 10A]

Complete 9B only if you or your spouse prepared your most recent U.S. federal tax return.

9B. Did you use tax software when you prepared your return?

 Yes

 No

9C. Approximately how much total time (in hours) did you or your spouse spend on activities related to your most recent U.S. federal tax return? Include time spent for activities such as record keeping, gathering tax materials, tax planning, form completion, and form submission.

_________ Hours

9D. Approximately how much money (in U.S. dollars), if any, did you spend on expenses related to your most recent U.S. federal tax return? Include any fees for a paid professional, tax preparation software, faxes, delivery, postage, classes, or books.

_________ U.S. Dollars

9E. How was your most recent U.S. federal tax return filed?

 Filed by regular or express mail

 Filed electronically (E-file)

 Delivered in person to a U.S. embassy, consulate, or other IRS office

 Not sure/Filed by someone else

Other Information

10

10A. How long has it been since you last lived in the United States?

 Less than a year

 1-2 years

 3-5 years

 6-9 years

 10 years or more

 I have never lived in the United States

10B. Where do you access the Internet? Please check all that apply.

 Home

 Work

 Public library or other public place (e.g., school, Internet café)

 Mobile/Cell phone/Smartphone

 Not applicable/Do not have Internet access

10C. What is your employment status?

 Student, working part time

 Student, working full time

 Full time student

 Employed full time

 Employed part time

 Not employed, but looking for work

 Not employed and not looking for work

 Retired, working part time

 Retired, not employed

10D. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

 Grade school

 Some high school

 High school diploma/GED

 Trade/Vocational school

 Some college

 Associate’s degree

 Bachelor’s degree

 Advanced degree (Master’s, Doctoral, or professional degree)

Your Feedback to the IRS

11

What barrier(s) have you experienced when you have used IRS resources while living outside the United States?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

I

!

f you have been unable to resolve any specific problems with your tax matter through the normal IRS channels, or now face a significant hardship due to the application of the tax law, we encourage you to contact the National Taxpayer Advocate Helpline at 001-787-622-8940 (English) and 001-787-622-8930 (Spanish) between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Atlantic Standard Time.

Thank you for completing the survey. Please return this questionnaire by mail using the enclosed international business return envelope or by mailing the survey to the following address:

ICF/Scantron

IRS Survey of Individuals Living Abroad

P.O. Box 64529

St. Paul, MN 55164-9610 USA

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-1432. Also, if you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to the: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP,1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406, Washington, DC 20224.

Advance Letter (pre-note) about the Survey

IRS LETTERHEAD

DATE

ID#

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

SAMPLE ADDRESS 1

SAMPLE ADDRESS 2

SAMPLE ADDRESS 3 POSTAL CODE

Dear FIRSTNAME LASTNAME:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needs your help in improving the services it provides to individuals who live outside the United States. I invite you to take part in the Survey of Individuals Living Abroad, which asks for your opinions about IRS tax-related information and available resources. Your candid feedback is critical to the accuracy of this study and will help the IRS determine what international tax-related enhancements are needed to improve the experiences of those living abroad.

ICF, an independent research company, is administering the survey for the IRS. In a few weeks, you will receive a letter from ICF with instructions for completing the survey online or by mail. By completing this survey, you will help the IRS develop a comprehensive portfolio of service improvements.

You do not need to wait for the paper survey. ICF has made the online version available right now. I encourage you to complete the survey by typing the following link into your web browser and entering the unique password provided:

http://insert-ICF-link-here.com

Password: [insert password]

ICF will not provide any identifying information to the IRS and will keep your identity private to the extent permitted by law. Your participation in this study is voluntary. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete.

I am personally committed to improving service to individuals living abroad. Please help me in this effort by completing the survey as soon as possible. If you do not receive a paper survey by [insert date], please contact the ICF Survey Help Desk by telephone at 001-301-572-0381 or by e-mail at [E-mail Address]@icfi.com. If you wish to verify the IRS’s sponsorship of the survey, please contact David Cico at

001-404-338-7552 or David.C.Cico@irs.gov.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Mark. E. Pursley

Director, Research and Analysis

IRS, Wage and Investment Division

Cover Letter with the Survey

ICF/Scantron

IRS Survey of Individuals Living Abroad

P.O. Box 64529

St. Paul, MN 55164-9610

DATE

ID#

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

SAMPLE ADDRESS 1

SAMPLE ADDRESS 2

SAMPLE ADDRESS 3 POSTAL CODE

Dear FIRSTNAME LASTNAME:

A few weeks ago, you received a letter from Mark E. Pursley, Director, Research and Analysis, Wage and Investment Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) asking for your assistance with an important initiative to improve the IRS’s service to those who live outside the United States. As part of this improvement effort, the IRS is conducting the Survey of Individuals Living Abroad. Your candid feedback is critical to the accuracy and utility of this study. The survey will help the IRS determine what enhancements will improve current and future tax-related services the IRS provides to those who live abroad.

You were chosen at random to participate in this survey, which is administered by ICF, an independent research company. If you have already completed this survey online, thank you for your feedback. If not, you may complete the survey either online or by mail using the enclosed paper survey. If you are completing the survey by mail, please use the postage-paid reply envelope to return your completed survey by [insert date].

If you choose to complete it online, you can access the survey from any computer that has web access by typing the following address into your browser and then entering your unique password:

http://insert-ICF-link-here.com

Password : [insert password]

You will be able to exit the survey and re-enter at a later time using this password. It will also protect any data you have entered if you experience any computer disruptions. ICF will not provide any identifying information to the IRS along with your responses and will hold your identity private to the extent permitted by law. Your individual responses will not be shared with the IRS but will be grouped with the responses from all individuals who complete this survey.

The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. While your participation is voluntary, we encourage you to complete the survey. If you have any questions about the survey process, please contact the ICF Survey Help Desk by telephone at 001-301-572-0381 or by e-mail at [E-mail Address]@icfi.com. If you wish to verify the IRS’s sponsorship of the survey, please contact David Cico at 001-404-338-7552 or David.C.Cico@irs.gov.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Arlen Rosenthal

ICF Project Director

Reminder Letter

ICF LETTERHEAD

DATE

ID#

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

SAMPLE ADDRESS 1

SAMPLE ADDRESS 2

SAMPLE ADDRESS 3 POSTAL CODE

Dear FIRSTNAME LASTNAME:

A few weeks ago, I sent you the Survey of Individuals Living Abroad asking for your candid feedback about the services that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides to individuals who live outside the United States. If you have already completed and submitted the survey, please accept our sincere thanks.

If you have not had a chance to complete the survey, please take a few minutes to complete it online by typing the following link into your web browser and entering the password provided:

http://insert-ICF-link-here.com

Password: [insert password]

If you prefer to complete the survey by mail, in a few weeks I will send a replacement paper copy to individuals who have not completed the survey. Your candid feedback is critical to the accuracy and utility of this study. The results of the survey will help the IRS determine what enhancements will improve current and future tax-related services the IRS provides to those who live abroad.

If you have any questions about the survey process, please contact the ICF Survey Help Desk by telephone at 001-301-572.0381 or by e-mail at [E-mail Address]@icfi.com. If you wish to verify the IRS’s sponsorship of the survey, please contact David Cico at 001-404-338-7552 or David.C.Cico@irs.gov.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Arlen Rosenthal

ICF Project Director

Third Letter and Survey to Non-Respondents

ICF LETTERHEAD

DATE

ID#

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

SAMPLE ADDRESS 1

SAMPLE ADDRESS 2

SAMPLE ADDRESS 3 POSTAL CODE

Dear FIRSTNAME LASTNAME:

Recently ICF sent you the Survey of Individuals Living Abroad asking for your feedback about the services that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides to individuals who live outside the United States. If you have already completed and submitted the survey, please accept our sincere thanks. If you have not done so, please take a few minutes now to complete the survey either online or by mail.

We want to learn more about your experiences with tax-related services provided by the IRS during your time living abroad. Your candid feedback is critical to the accuracy of this study and will help the IRS determine what enhancements are needed to improve services to those living abroad.

If you choose to complete it online, you can access the survey from any computer that has web access by typing the following address into your browser and then entering your unique password:

http://insert-ICF-link-here.com

Password: [insert password]

You will be able to exit the survey and re-enter at a later time using this password. It will also protect any data you have entered if you experience any computer disruptions. Please complete the online or paper copy of the survey by [insert date]. If you choose to respond by mail, please use the postage-paid reply envelope to return your completed paper survey.

ICF will not provide any identifying information to the IRS along with your responses and will hold your identity private to the extent permitted by law. Your individual responses will not be shared with the IRS but will be grouped with the responses from all individuals who complete this survey. The survey is quite brief and should take about 10 minutes to complete.

The IRS is committed to improving its performance and service to the public. Your honest opinions will help bring about these improvements. If you have any questions, please contact the ICF Survey Help Desk by telephone at 001-301-572-0381 or by e-mail at [E-mail Address]@icfi.com. If you wish to verify the IRS’s sponsorship of the survey, please contact David Cico at 001-404-338-7552 or David.C.Cico@irs.gov.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Arlen Rosenthal

ICF Project Director

W

OMB #1545-1432

ebsite Invitation

Thank you for logging on to this site to complete the Survey of Individuals Living Abroad which asks for your opinions about Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax-related information and available resources. The IRS needs your help in improving the services it provides to individuals who live outside the United States. Your candid feedback is critical to the accuracy of this study and will help the IRS determine what international tax-related enhancements are needed to improve the experiences of those living abroad. ICF, an independent research company, is conducting this research on behalf of the IRS, and we would like to include your opinions. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the ICF Survey Helpline at IRSsurvey@icfi.com or 001-301-572-0381.

Please be assured that this survey is for research purposes only. You will not be required to give any personal financial information, nor will you be contacted by the IRS as a result of participating in the research. All responses will be held private to the extent covered by law.

The survey should take no more than approximately 10 minutes to complete. If you need to pause the survey at anytime, you can come back later and begin again where you left off. Simply save the web link and unique password to access your survey again. The survey will automatically take you to the point where you left off.

Please click “NEXT” to begin.

The OMB number for this study is 1545-1432.

If you have any comments regarding this study, please write to:

Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406, Washington, DC 20224.

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W&I-2013-IRS Survey of

International Non-Filers